Sine Titulus :
by dragonfly32402
Summary: Complete. An undercover operation goes wrong in war torn africa. Season 3 Post Utopia Now. Please RR. my first Published Fanfic. Flames will be ignored. Chapter 8 is now up. Apologies to any betas I forgot. Thank you ScarecrowLover, UKMary, CanitFran
1. Default Chapter

**Setting**: Early Season 3

**Rating:** PG-13 for mild cursing and some violence

**Genre:** Drama

**Author: **Dragonfly32403 (Some of you know me as Osprey at Pax and AllYourTV)

**Disclaimer: **The characters belong to Shoot the Moon Productions and Warner Brothers. Only the storyline and the bad guys are mine.

**Archive: **Anywhere, just ask first.

**Thanks to my awesome betas at AllYourTV. CanItFrancine and UKMary, I promise I'll finish these. I know it's a crime to leave them unfinished. And thank you to everyone at Pax.TV who beta-ed to: ScarecrowLover, JB, Laura, and Neenay, and anyone else I may be forgetting.**

( _italics_) signals a flashback

Floating in and out of consciousness, Lee could feel Amanda's fingers in his hair. She spoke softly to him, murmuring reassuring and comforting words that washed over him like a warm spring rain. He was in pain, and the closer he came to consciousness the worse it became. He wanted to tell her to get out of here, leave him. It was way too dangerous for her to stay. But still she caressed his hot skin, and when his eyes fluttered open, she called his name with relief he could feel. And his need to get her out of here was replaced by his stronger need to have her near him.

"Manda?"

"Yeah, I'm here Lee. You had me awfully scared; I didn't think you'd wake up. I'm glad you did though." She paused, "Lee?"

Struggling to sit up he answered her, "Hmm?" It was really all he could manage right now.

She sighed, "We're in trouble again aren't we?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah, Amanda. We are."

He groaned as he pulled himself up against the wall. He let out a sharp breath and winced. He touched his ribs and pulled away quickly.

"It's just a flesh wound Lee. I'm more worried about your head."

She reached gently for the gash above his left temple. It was an angry red and purple, but at least it had stopped bleeding. He jerked his head away from her probing fingers. He impatiently pushed her hands aside.

"Amanda! I'm okay. We need to find a way out of here."

Lee looked around the room they were sitting in. He couldn't make out much in the dim light that filtered in through the high, tinted windows. He guessed that the windows were less than 20 feet from where he was and there was no second story between them. He thought it could be a warehouse, but then he really couldn't be sure. Hell in this country, it could be anything.

"What time is it? How long have I been out?"

"It's after midnight Lee. You were out almost 2 hours."

"Uh, Amanda?"

"Yeah Lee?"

"What are we doing here?"

Her dark eyes widened in surprise. "You don't remember?"

He shook his head, and groaned a little. She eased herself back down onto the floor next to him and began.

He remembered something about a bust, but that was pretty much it. And if he was unconscious on a floor, it must have gone very badly.

"Well, Lee it all started back at the meet. The leader of the MSA…"

"Jean Christophe"

She nodded and went back to her tale

_() Jean Christophe was a tall thin man, with dark, thinning hair, and a French accent as thick as his bushy beard. His piercing blue eyes were the shade of a January morning. He was fidgety and made Lee's skin crawl. But, maybe most importantly, he was also a mercenary and a terrorist. There was definitely something wrong with this man. Amanda didn't like the looks of him either. Of course, his being a terrorist didn't really help matters or her opinion of him. _

_Christophe walked over to the so-called "smart" bombs. These specially made, satellite guided, surface-to-surface missiles were exactly what he needed. They could be modified to be dropped from a small plane. He had paid a small fortune for the six dull gray cylinders. But it would be worth the money to end the hold of the whining fools in the Mareki Parliament. He caressed the weapons with a lover's touch. They were the answers to the prayers of the Mareki Soldiers of Allah. The MSA used the name of the deity in their work, but there was nothing holy about them. With these bombs, the MSA would free Mareki from the heretical parliament and return it to strict control of the MSA. _

_Those morons had turned a once strong African nation into the slaves of European and American imperialists. Becoming the lap dogs of the foreigners had made the people rich. The Mareki were wealthy now, oh yes, they had physical riches but their souls were poor. The parliament was the cause of all this. They had turned their backs on Allah, and for that indiscretion, they would be punished._

_He turned his attention back to the two Federal Agents that stood close together on the other side of the drab green crate. He smiled at them ingratiatingly. Fools. They still thought their cover was intact. To think they thought he'd fall for their elaborate game. He had to admit though; their stories were good, at first. Two American expatriates looking to make some quick money with their military connections on the black market. There were some tells though. First, why would Americans want to get involved in the civil war of a small African country? Secondly, even well connected military, wouldn't be able to sneak bombs off of base, at least he didn't think so. And these were real. He'd been a mercenary long enough to know the difference between a dummy and a real bomb. But what really gave it away was his source. People were so easily bought. He laughed aloud. Frowning, Amanda cocked an eyebrow at Christophe, people didn't usually laugh out loud for no reason. He would use "his" agents however, for whatever he could get out of them. Then their pay would be a bullet. _

"Then he walked back over to us and told you where he'd have the bombs sent. I was waiting for him to get the money I never guessed what would happen next."

_Christophe turned to Amanda and leered. She suppressed a shiver. He told them where he would be taking his treasure. He made sure that their back up would be there before changing his plans. Grinning he decided that he'd have some fun with the woman first, then kill them both. Putting on his best show, he walked over to the two agents. 'My,' he thought, 'they're awfully cozy.' And he knew how to use that. He fingered Amanda's dark hair and she cringed. Lee tensed. Christophe grinned inwardly. These two were closer than he thought. That would work well for him. Christophe eased himself behind Amanda and put his hands on her shoulders. He looked directly into the hazel eyes of her partner. He watched as Lee fought for control. _

_The one called Stephenson, who he knew was Stetson, spoke first. "So you have what you want. How about what we want?" He needed to see the money in order for this to be legal. Christophe stepped away from Amanda and back towards the bombs. He had his back turned to the agents. And suddenly the hair on Lee's neck stood on end. Every nerve in him was screaming that something was wrong. Christophe turned quickly and he and Lee reached for their sidearms at the same time, but Lee was a split second quicker. Breathing a sigh of relief, but never relaxing, Lee demanded, _

"_Drop it Christophe! It's over." _

_Amanda's gasp caught his attention. A second man had come out of the shadows and encircling her waist with is muscular arm, pressed a pistol to her temple. _

"_Lee," her voice was barely a whisper. _

"_Drop it Stetson," the unknown man spoke, "or she dies." _

_It took a minute for Lee to realize that the man had called him Stetson. As he turned Christophe fired, grazing Lee's ribs and dropping him to his knees._

"_Lee!" Amanda called fighting against the man holding her. He held up a hand to quiet her as his right hand pressed against his chest._

"_Jesus," Lee whispered as his gun clattered to the hard floor. _

_He knew that voice. Frank Sullivan, Nairobi office. So, he was Christophe's source. No wonder the MSA was so powerful in Africa and always one step ahead of the government. American Intelligence was supplying weapons and information and making a fortune doing it. _

"_Come on Sullivan? The MSA? Couldn't you pick real terrorists to help?" _

_Lee hid his nerves behind his wall of sarcasm. Not that was necessarily his best course of action. _

_Christophe's pistol slammed into the side of Lee's head and he fell to the floor. _

"And then they blind folded me, picked you up, put us in a truck, and here we are."

Lee turned to his partner, "Damn. Damn! I should have known this was going too easily. Amanda, I'm sorry I got you into this…"

"Shh, Lee don't. You couldn't have known. I made the choice to come here. I knew the risks."

Lee managed a smile, "No guts, no glory right?"

"Right." She smiled back. "Now we need to figure out how to get out of here. Wherever here is. I definitely don't want to be here when Christophe and Sullivan get back."

"They're gone?"

She nodded, but he could barely make out the movement in the dusky room.

"Yeah. They went to load the bombs into a plane; from there they were taking them to an airfield. I'm sorry, Lee. I couldn't make out anything else they were saying. They left one guy for muscle."

"Just one?" He forced himself to his feet, ignoring the pain in his side and Amanda's protests to just sit still. "Amanda I can't just sit still. Look, we have to find a way out of here. I don't think Christophe is just going to let us go when he's done with us!"

"I know that, Lee." She crossed her arms, and turned away from him. Sometimes she wished he'd at least pretend he thought she knew what she was doing.

He sighed, "Amanda, look, I'm sorry, okay." He put his hands on her upper arms and gently turned her back towards him.

He wanted to say he didn't like how Christophe looked at her. He wanted to say that he cared about her and the thought of her getting hurt was killing him. Instead, he quickly dropped his hands and cleared his throat. He flinched as he raked a hand through his hair. His head throbbed and the muscles in his chest screamed their protest at the movement.

"Okay. Do you have any idea what kind of building this is? Did you get a look at it at all?"

"No. I'm sorry Lee. It was dark when they brought us here and I was blindfolded. But, it can't be that big or empty."

He cocked an eyebrow, "now just what makes you think that?"

"Well, you know how when you're in a big room and there's not a lot of furniture or other stuff in it you're voice kind of echoes. You know, the room just sounds big or empty. We're not exactly whispering and I don't hear an echo, do you?"

Secretly impressed he said, "It could just be sound proofed you know."

"No. It couldn't."

"What? Why not?"

"Feel the walls Lee. They're cement to about 3 feet. Above that they're some kind of metal."

For emphasis, she gently tapped her fingernail on the building. The hollow metallic sound proved her point.

"If it was sound proofed, these walls would be covered in foam, or rubber or something." Now doubting herself, she added, "Wouldn't they?"

"Actually, yeah, they would. Good work Amanda."

She smiled down at the floor and shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. Then sobering, she wondered exactly what it mattered what kind of room they were in. It was black as pitch in here, she could barely make out Lee's shape in the almost non-existent ambient light and he was only a couple feet from her. She didn't think Christophe and Sullivan were stupid enough to leave them an out. If they weren't tied up, which they hadn't been, then there was nothing in here that would help them.

It didn't matter anyway. A door slammed open and a flashlight shone directly into their eyes. Lee grimaced and looked away, trying to take in some of his surroundings in the garish light. Amanda was right about the room. It was actually just a tall Quonset type hut about 20 feet high and 35 feet long. The floor was dirt and the room was completely empty except for an old stripped out Piper Cub single engine plane. The door that the flashlight wielding man had come in was next to a larger door that had probably been used to get the plane in here.

"Alright, Stetson, let's go."

"Now why would I want to do that?"

"Cuz if you don't, the woman's gonna buy it. Got it?"

Amanda was clutching his arm. He could feel her short nails through the thin material of his shirt. He felt her grip tighten as the unseen man ordered him out of the room. He hesitated for a second then gently but firmly removed Amanda's hand from his arm.

"Lee, don't, please." Amanda's voice was a harsh whisper.

"Now Stetson. Move it." Slowly, Lee walked towards the man. He held his hands out to his sides indicating that he didn't have any type of weapon. The man grabbed Lee by the shirt and pulled him roughly out the door. He took two quick steps and stopped. The man behind him pressed a pistol into his side and shoved him along.

"Look, why don't you let the woman go? She's no threat to you. She doesn't know anything."

"Shut up. Christophe has plans for both of you. You're lady friend won't be going anywhere any too soon."

Inwardly, Lee cringed at the thought of the creepy Frenchman touching Amanda. If that bastard touched his Amanda, he'd kill him.

Lee was led to another building much like the first and shoved into near total darkness again. This time though, the darkness didn't last long. A single bulb snapped to life and filled the room with deep shadows. A single wooden chair sat in the middle of the room. Lee's stomach lurched a bit when he saw the leather straps on the armrests and legs. He hated interrogations that went this way. A tall man walked up behind him and shoved him down into the chair. Aiming the pistol at Lee's stomach, the man bent to tighten the leg straps.

The man looked down to find the buckle and Lee acted. Lee pistoned his legs forward squarely into the man's jaw. With a grunt, he dropped to the floor in a boneless heap. Jumping up from the chair, Lee quickly disarmed the mercenary. Lee lifted the man and dropped him into the interrogation chair. He made sure all the buckles were tight and then ran out into the darkness.

Meanwhile:

Amanda stood in the again darkened room as the sound of the slamming door filled the building. As soon as the two men left, she began to search the walls for the switch she had seen. She just hoped turning on the light wouldn't get the wrong person's attention. Then again, with Lee gone, the only attention she could get was the wrong person's.

"Think Amanda." She spoke to herself out loud. Hearing her own voice was reassuring, to a point. She moved her hands swiftly along the warm metal walls. Just as she reached the light switch, the door opened again.

"Mrs. King, please come with me."

"Oh no." Amanda whispered. She hesitated but Christophe's next words motivated her to give in to his request.

"Mrs. King, we have your partner. If you don't do as we say, we will kill him. And believe me Amanda; may I call you that, Amanda?" He didn't wait for her answer, "It will not be a quick death."

Straightening her shoulders, Amanda went to Christophe. He followed her out the door. Amanda glanced at her surroundings. There was absolutely nothing to see, just endless sand and decrepit buildings. Her heart skipped a beat as she and Christophe passed a second hut and she heard the sounds of a struggle. She didn't want to think about what they were probably doing to Lee. She shuddered slightly.

"Surely you aren't cold Amanda. None the less, we can take care of that."

When she hesitated at the door of the squat building they had been in earlier that day, Christophe shoved her inside. He led her to a second door and none too gently escorted her into the room.

This new room, though sparsely furnished, was obviously a living quarters. A small cot like bed with a rough OD Green woolen blanket, thin pillow, and striped sheets was against the far wall. A badly mistreated blonde maple desk sat against the left wall underneath the room's only window. To the right of the desk, at the foot of the bed was a black metal filing cabinet. The right hand wall was painted the same institutional grey as the rest of the room, but unlike those bare walls, this wall bore maps of Mareki and the neighboring nations of Estoccia, Eritrea, and Sudan. Different areas were marked in blue, red, green, and black marker on each nation.

Amanda tried to take in as much of the information on the map as the she could. It gave her something to think about other than what was in store for her here. Luckily, she was familiar enough with Estoccia to quickly determine what the marked targets there were. Unfortunately, her knowledge of Mareki and the other nations wasn't quite so vast. The highest concentration of red marks, however were around the capitol city of Vakesh in Mareki. That much she could make out in the short time she was able to look at the map.

Keeping his gun trained on Amanda, Christophe locked the door behind himself. The sound of the metal bar sliding home caused Amanda's stomach to drop.

She felt Christophe behind her before she felt his hands on her shoulders. Amanda closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had to stay calm, she had to figure out a way to get out of here and rescue Lee.

Lee ran across the dark desert to the hut he'd just left. Checking the gun and chambering a round, Lee threw the door open. He flipped the switch he knew would be next to the door and whispered Amanda's name. As bright light flooded the building, he thought better of it and again sank the building into darkness. He didn't know who was out there or how many of them there were. The guy who'd taken him out just minutes before wasn't Sullivan or Christophe.

Again, Lee called to Amanda. "Hey, it's me. Amanda?"

As realization that she was no longer here dawned, Lee's heart fell into his stomach. There were a good number of buildings on this compound. Lee had noticed them when they came in with the bombs.

"Dammit." Lee swore aloud.

He had to get the bombs back from these crazies and get Amanda from wherever she was, and not necessarily in that order. He knew what his number one priority was supposed to be, but he didn't really give a damn at that moment. His personal number one priority was Amanda and getting them out of here.

Lee dropped the magazine out of the gun, unchambered the round that was in it, and forced that round back into the magazine. He certainly didn't want to take the chance of accidentally shooting himself or Amanda. He slid the magazine back into the gun and slipped the gun between his hip and his jeans. As silently as the breeze, Lee slipped back into the Mareki night.

Staying close to the building, Lee allowed his eyes to become accustomed to the near perfect darkness of the desert night. A waning, but nearly full moon was beginning to rise over the horizon in the east. The light would soon brighten the compound enough for Lee to search more easily. He knew though, that that light would also allow him to be seen more easily. Lee scanned the buildings on his side of the hut and made a mental note of those that had lights shining in their high windows. Most of these buildings were like the hangar that he and Amanda had been kept in earlier. There were also long, squat, mud-brick buildings that Lee had to assume were barracks. He wished he knew where Christophe stayed. He had a sinking feeling that that's where he'd find Amanda. He figured he could rule out the main barracks, Christophe didn't seem the type to share quarters with his men. Deciding he'd begin his search at the warehouse they'd been in earlier, Lee slipped out of the shadow of the building and sprinted across the desert sand.

Amanda tried to will herself away as Christophe caressed her face and hair.

"You are a beautiful woman Amanda. Far too beautiful for this line of work. Don't you know that beautiful women shouldn't be in Godforsaken places like this? A woman like you should be in a palace Amanda, not a warehouse surrounded by mercenaries and filled with rats."

He leaned towards her until she could feel his hot breath on her face and whispered, "I can make you **my** queen Amanda. Tell me what you know. Tell me what your partner knows. Tell me you will join me in my quest to free Mareki, Amanda, and I will make you my queen."

"What have you done with Lee?" Amanda squeaked.

"If I were you Amanda, I would worry more about what I was going to do with you and forget about him." Christophe hissed and turned away from her.

Lee slipped around the warehouse and slid along the wall, staying in the shadows. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw one of the doors across the narrow dirt path open and a man step out into the light. He pressed himself flatter against the wall and drew the pistol. He slid the chamber back slowly and flinched when the slide clicked home. Breathing a sigh of relief when the man didn't step out of the building but instead turned to the building and relieved himself, Lee continued towards the front of the warehouse.

Wishing desperately that he hadn't gotten Amanda involved in this, Lee headed towards the warehouse they'd been in when they'd handed over the smart bombs. Lee knew that his first priority was supposed to be getting those bombs back and stopping these madmen. However, he could worry about that _after_ he rescued Amanda. It wasn't as if he had never danced with treason, or disaster, before.

He listened in the deep silence of the desert night for any sound that would give away Christophe's location, but all he could hear were the soft whuffles of the horses and camels that were kept by Christophe's Bedouin guides, and the rapid, excited conversation of the traders. Lee tried to follow the snippets of conversation that blew by him on the cool desert wind. The only words that stuck with him were Vakesh and Mnebe, but they were cities, probably targets. He'd been almost sure of that when all this started. He had to keep moving.

The heat of the sub-Saharan day had almost completely bled out of the night. The air that moved softly around him, ruffling his hair was cool on his nerve-heated skin. The sand however, was still warm under his military issue boots. The blue jeans and light, short-sleeved shirt he wore offered him little protection from the rapidly dropping temperature of the desert night.

Another two minutes brought him to the outside of the first hangar they were in. Lee scanned the side of the building, his heart dropping as he saw a faint yellow light near the steeply sloped tin roof. He had already ruled out the roof as a way of getting in. Just as he was about to circle the building a deep and frighteningly familiar voice called out across the desert.

"Stetson got away. He's gone!"

"Shit," Lee swore under his breath and searched for somewhere to hide. Suddenly he made his decision and sprinted around the building.

Amanda sat down hard on the cot, not exactly of her own free will. She closed her eyes as Christophe's mouth descended towards hers. She tried to will herself away but it didn't really work. She heard noise from outside the high window but couldn't make out the sounds. She winced as his scrubby beard scraped against her soft cheek and his lips claimed hers. His tongue pressed against her closed mouth, first gently, then more urgently.

He stepped back from her, apparently savoring the kiss. Amanda had to fight the urge to wipe her mouth and spit. She succeeded, barely. His breath tasted of cigar and spices. He smelled of stale sweat, cigar smoke, and cooking fire. She stared at him, clutching the mattress, and dreading his return to her. She could barely stand the taste of him; she knew she wouldn't be able to stand it if it went any farther than a kiss.

As Christophe leaned in to taste her mouth again, someone knocked on the door. He backed off with a growl. "Go away! I'm busy in here."

The incessant pounding didn't stop, but instead grew more urgent. He swore a string of oaths as he turned from Amanda, "Don't go away."

He grabbed the door knob and pulled the door open, "Unless we're being inva…," he was cut off by a sharp left hook.

"Invade this, you son of a b…"

"Lee!" Amanda called to him, cutting him off mid-curse. She jumped up from the cot and ran to him. As relief washed over her she threw her arms around Lee's neck. He held her to him then peeled her off of himself.

"Did he hurt you?" Lee held onto her arms as he looked at the terrorist sprawled on the floor. He reluctantly let her go as she shook her head. Pulling the sheets off the cot, Lee made a makeshift hog-tie for Christophe. Lee pulled the pillowcase off the thin pillow and put it over Christophe's head. Lee then used the man's belt as a makeshift gag.

As Lee finished with Christophe, Amanda began pulling maps off the walls. "These have some places labeled. I think they're the MSA targets. Uh, Vakesh and M…Muhneebee?" She sounded out the second word.

Lee smiled slightly and re-pronounced the second city. "Em Nay Bee. And I know Amanda; I heard the Bedouin's talking about it earlier. We need to get out of here before our friend here gets loose. They already know I'm free. Come on." He took her hand and pulled her out of the room.

She stopped short and he frowned at her, "A-man-da!" She pulled her hand from his and went back over to Christophe. She bent down and reached for the sprawled terrorist.

"What are you doing? We need to get out of …" he was cut off as she pulled Christophe's pistol from his holster and checked it for ammunition. He couldn't help but smile as she reached for his hand and followed him out of the room.


	2. Part 2

* * *

Lee and Amanda stood at the edge of the warehouse. Mercenaries were yelling to one another in several languages. Only two of which Lee understood. It didn't matter though. He knew what they were saying simply by their tone. Everyone knew he'd managed to get away. Their window for escape was closing rapidly. He could hear Amanda's staccato breath behind him. She was putting up a good front and he was proud of her, but he also knew she was scared. Hell, he was scared. He reached back for her hand and she gripped his hand tightly in her own.

The first thing Lee was going to do was find Frank Sullivan. Then he was going to find those smart bombs. He knew Sullivan was a moron. There wasn't really any other reason for his being transferred to the Nairobi office. This, of course, worked in Lee's favor, because he was going to convince Sullivan to tell him where those bombs were, and he had absolutely no qualms about shooting the bastard if he didn't.

"Come on Amanda," Lee whispered into the dark. "Let's find those bombs, shall we?"

* * *

"Where's Christophe?" A tall, tanned mercenary with an AK-47 slung over his shoulder shouted to Frank Sullivan. "With the woman. He said not to disturb him." Frank Sullivan was a nervous man. He knew that if Stetson caught him he was as good as dead. If Christophe had touched the woman at all there wouldn't be any stopping Stetson from blowing them all to hell and gone with those smart bombs. Of course, if Christophe found out that Stetson had escaped, the chances of Sullivan making it out of the desert with his life were pretty slim anyway.

Sullivan looked out over the glistening sand dunes and swore to himself. He lit a cigarette and tossed the match in the sand. The base was hyperactive. Men with automatic weapons scoured the grounds for the missing agent. He knew he should tell Christophe, but he really didn't want to get shot. He was in this for the money. He didn't give a damn about the MSA or their petty squabbles with the Mareki. Frank Sullivan decided to cut his losses and run. Looking back once, Sullivan ran stiffly across the sand and bought a camel. He disappeared into the Saharan night.

* * *

A million scenarios ran their course through Lee Stetson's head as he led Amanda through the compound. Very few of them had a happy ending. Lee turned to Amanda, "Can you run?"

"Of course," suddenly her eyes grew wide with understanding. "Oh, no, Lee. I'm not leaving you alone here."

"Look, Amanda, one of us…" Lee began to respond, but Amada cut him off.

"And anyway, where am I going to go to? It'll be morning soon. The next village isn't for fifty miles or better and when the sun comes up, the temperature is going to go up with it. I can't just run across the desert hoping I'm going in the right direction can I?"

Amanda-logic frustrated him, but he had to admit she was right. He couldn't just send her jogging off into the Sahara. She couldn't stay here with him though either. There was a very good chance she would get hurt. He knew they didn't stand a chance against the MSA alone. They wouldn't have a chance even if they could BOTH shoot, and the fact that she had even taken Christophe's gun amazed him. He shook his head in defeat.

"Look, we can discuss this later. Right now we have to get you out of here."

"I told you Lee, I'm not leaving."

Lee growled in frustration, but knew better than to keep up the discussion. He wouldn't win, and Christophe's mercenaries would find them sitting in the sand arguing over the same point when the sun came up.

"Come on then," Lee stood and looked around quickly. Pulling Amanda behind him, he headed for the Bedouins. Hopefully, he could get them some transportation out of here. The Arab traders didn't know who he and Amanda were, they weren't loyal to anyone here, and enough money could get them safely to Estoccia and a contact with Billy.

Lee stopped short as he came up behind the tall thin terrorist. He shushed Amanda with his hand to his lips. With a grunt, the young man fell to the sand as the butt of Lee's pistol made contact with his skull.

Without a word, Amanda helped Lee drag the man behind some scrub. Amanda turned away as Lee began to undress. This had worked before, hopefully it would work again.

* * *

Christophe struggled against his bonds and yelled curses in both French and English into the gag. He was going to kill both of them, slowly. Stetson was going to suffer the worst. No one manhandled Christophe like this and lived to tell about it.

Finally, one of the mercenaries pounded on the door. "Christophe, the agent escaped! Someone said they saw him heading into the desert on a camel! Christophe?"

The terrorist kicked at the door and shouted into his gag.

The door flew open and the soldier looked down at his boss. "What the hell?"

Pulling the gag from Christophe's mouth the soldier told him again about Stetson's escape. "No kidding, moron. Do you think the woman did this to me? Hmm?"

"N…No, sir."

"If you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will kill you slowly. Do you understand me?"

"Yes. Yes sir."

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

Lee stood up and draped the man's Uzi over his shoulder. He looked up as she finished binding and gagging the young soldier. "Ready?"

She nodded, wiped the sand off of her hands and became Lee's "prisoner."


	3. Part 3

Amanda stopped suddenly and Lee ran into her, "Amanda." His angry whisper cut through the night.

"This isn't going to work, Lee"

"It had damned well better work," Lee whispered harshly.

"It's not going to work." She sat back down pulling him after her and getting them out of anyone's line of sight.

"Do you have a better idea?"

"No."

"Then let's go."

"No. Lee, how many of them do you think there are here?"

He cocked his head at her, "I don't know 50 maybe less, that's what the latest intelligence said anyway…" as realization dawned his shoulders slumped in defeat, "oh."

"Yeah, they probably all know each other. They're going to be able to pick you out in a second, Lee."

He took a deep breath, "Okay, so then we find somewhere to hide out until morning, we find Sullivan, and we get those bombs back."

Lee looked around at his meager surroundings. It wouldn't take an hour for Christophe's men to find them. They were both as good as dead if that happened. And he really didn't like the idea of what Christophe had in mind for his Amanda.

Amanda stared off into the distance. Campfires danced just yards away. The snorts and grunts of camels floated towards them on a wavering breeze. Men sat around smoking and telling stories and laughing. The women had all retired for the night. Jewel colored tents seemed to glow in the brightening moonlight. She didn't want to die, especially not here, not being able to tell her mother and the boys why. She began to rock gently in the sand.

Lee reached out and touched her arm. This was becoming far too common to them. "Amanda, I'll think of something, okay?"

She nodded then she jumped up as if she'd been bitten.

"What? Amanda, what's wrong?" Lee looked around expecting to see terrorists standing at his back.

"The Bedouins."

"What about them?" Lee looked off in the direction that Amanda was staring in and suddenly it was like he was reading her mind. He smiled, "come on. And stay low."

Amanda followed him through the darkness towards the encampment. Instinctively, Lee reached back and smiled as Amanda took his hand. He surveyed the area, trying to stay outside the firelight. Lee could still hear the activity in the base as men swore and doors slammed. In his head, he figured that they had a few hours left until sunrise. In June in Mareki, the sun rose around quarter past 6. That gave them a little bit of a buffer. He just hoped that he could get them back to Vakesh and as soon after the sun came up as possible. The temperature would soar to over 130° shortly after.

Lee did a double take when he saw the jeep parked next to the tent. The roof was gone and so were the doors, but he'd seen the Arabs driving it when they'd come in with this group, so it ran and it ran in the desert. That was really all that Lee needed from it anyway. He stopped, held his finger to his lips and motioned for Amanda to get down behind the tent. "And stay down."

She nodded and Lee stepped around the tent into the darkness and disappeared.


	4. part 4

Amanda peeled off heavy material as the jeep sped and bumped across the desert. She looked over at Lee and stifled a laugh at the get up he was wearing. He looked like a sheik, a tall, blonde sheik, and he was wearing a gingham tablecloth on his head. She knew it had some kind of official name, but to her it looked like the tablecloth that her mother used for picnics. He cast a sideways glance at her then a second longer look.

"What?" He asked as he turned his attention back to the sandy ruts.

"Nothing."

He glared for a second, smiled ambiguously then continued driving. Lee just prayed that this piece of scrap metal wouldn't overheat when the sun finally came up. The last thing he wanted was to be trapped in the middle of the Sahara with very little water and no one looking for them. Right now the desert was cold, but as soon as the sun rose the temperature would soar to over 110°. He hoped that the glow he saw in the distance was Vakesh.

"Hold on, Amanda!" Lee yelled over the wind and the whine of the engine.

Without a word, Amanda grabbed the roll bar with her right hand and the handle on the dash with her left. She closed her eyes and pressed herself back into the bucket seat and wished that this car had a seatbelt. Then again with no doors and no roof, that seemed to be asking an awful lot. Spitting sand, the Jeep tore across the wasteland.

"What the hell?"

Amanda opened her eyes as the Jeep slowed then skidded to a sliding stop in the loose sand. "Lee..?"

She looked out at the sand glowing in the moonlight then followed Lee's stare to a black lump off to the left of the Jeep. Grabbing the commandeered Uzi from the back Lee slid out. Amanda looked around then jumped out of the car and followed closely behind Lee. Lee came up short a bit shorter than Amanda and he glared over his shoulder at the same time he took her hand.

"Is that…?"

He nodded, "Yeah, that's Frank."

Lee knelt next to the body and felt for a pulse. He just looked up and shook his head. Amanda cringed and nodded. Lee turned Frank's body face up and frowned at the red stain that had spread across the front of his khaki shirt.

"Amanda, he's been shot."

She didn't miss the question in his voice. "If he was shot, Lee, that means…."

"Yeah, they're a lot closer than we thought. They must have thought that he was going to sell them out. Come on, let's get out of here quick. If they got him, they're going to step up their search for us and I don't think Christophe is going to put off his plans just because he doesn't know where we are."

Lee touched her arm and led her back to the jeep. The sun was just beginning to brighten the eastern sky. Lee looked towards his partner again.

"Amanda, don't take too much of that off. I don't know how far away we are, and that sun's going to be brutal in an hour. At least keep the veil on to keep the sun off your face." He paused, "I really am sorry about this Manda."

She just stared at him for a second then nodded. She resumed her death grip on the roll cage as they headed off across the sand again.

A pale, dark haired man ran towards the barracks. He hoped to gain some favor with Christophe for what he'd just done. The agent was dead. He had shot him himself and then returned on the stolen camel. Christophe had to be happy about that. Now there was no one who could ruin their plans.

"Christophe!"

The older man turned with a growl of impatience, "What is it fool? This had better be good."

"That agent, Stetson, he's dead."

Now Christophe turned his full attention to the man, "What? How do you know this? Where's the woman?"

"He wasn't with the woman. He was on a camel, headed out to Vakesh, just as you had said he might be. I caught up with him and I executed him. He won't stand in your way now."

"He wasn't with the woman? Then where is she? And where is his body?"

"I left it in the desert. No one will find it, the buzzards will take care of it."

A second man, much taller than Christophe and Jorgen ran up to them. "The traders are saying that a man and a woman stole one of their jeeps. There's clothing missing too. The agents have a head start, if they know where they were going. But the sun is going to be up in just over an hour. They won't survive the desert in that heat."

"Then who did you kill, Jorgen? Hmm? Who did you leave lying in the sand? Fools." Christophe pointed towards the tall, dark-skinned man. "Get three men and take one of the trucks. Catch them and kill Stetson. Bring the woman back to me. Do not harm her, do not touch her. Do you understand?" Christophe had his own plans for Amanda King. Without Stetson to get in the way, she would be his forever. She would learn to like it. And if she didn't, well, that wasn't really his concern.

He nodded and ran back calling into the camp for help. Christophe left Jorgen standing in the sand and sauntered over to the second hangar. He really was in no rush. He would be in the air before the sun came up and the Mareki parliament would be destroyed. Even if the agent could get back to Vakesh before Christophe was airborne, he knew that that pit of bureaucracy would keep him running in circles until well after it was too late. The MSA would get their explosion, the fools in the parliament would be dead, Mareki would return to its moral ways, and he'd get his money. With what the MSA was paying him, he could disappear forever, very comfortably. He threw open the door to the hangar and called to his Algerian assistant.

"Jean-Claude, get this plane ready to fly. I want to be in the air in half an hour. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."


	5. Chapter 5

Lee breathed a sigh of relief when the glow on the horizon became the glow of streetlights and window lamps. Maybe they'd make it after all. The sun had come up a little over an hour ago and the temperature was already climbing. The cold night of the desert was quickly being replaced by the parched furnace that was daytime in the Sahara. Lee had noticed, but not really registered in his haste, a blustery inconsistent wind picking up in the east and blowing at their backs.

The city was surprisingly awake for so soon after sunrise. The streets were crowded with Peugeots, Citroens, Volkswagens, and motor scooters. Men, women, and even youngish children pedaled bicycles in and out of the bumper-to-bumper traffic. Rickshaw style carts drove along both the streets and the sidewalks, scattering pedestrians who yelled curses in 4 different languages. Street vendors had already set up for the day and were doing a brisk business. Lee couldn't imagine where they were all going. But figuring out where the completely oblivious population of Vakesh was headed to on a morning like this wasn't Lee Stetson's primary concern. He had to figure out how he was going to stop Christophe. The jeep bumped over a curb and slipped on the sandy street, and then quickly regained traction and Lee aimed the beat up car in the direction of the Mareki parliament building. The traffic was moving, but he knew he could get out and run faster.

Sensing his urge to jump out of the car, Amanda grabbed his forearm, "Lee, you aren't going to get there any faster on foot."

It had always amazed him that she could read his mind. It didn't make him any less impatient today. "Hundreds of people are going to die if we, if **I**, don't get them out of that building."

"I know that Lee."

He inched the jeep forward again, hitting the horn in angry little bursts. Aside from dirty looks, that action got him nowhere. When Amanda's head snapped up, Lee turned his full attention to her. "What is it?"

"I don't know…"

"Oh Amanda…" His frustration was barely concealed.

She held her finger in the air shushing him, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what? All I hear are c…"

"It sounds like an airplane. A small airplane." She turned to face Lee, "Christophe's plane is a small plane."

"Yeah, it is. Come on." Lee slammed the car into park and jumped out. Amanda looked around, surprised, and then followed him. Instinctively reaching for her hand, his long fingers closed around hers, and he ran down the middle of the street almost dragging her. Cars behind them beeped angrily. People swore at them in more than one language, none of which Amanda had to speak to understand their meaning.

The heat was oppressive as Lee sprinted down the packed street pulling Amanda behind him. The parliament building was up ahead. He could see it from where they were. "Come on Amanda. It's just up ahead." The buzzing from the small planes engine warbled in the inconsistent wind.

The large marble building shimmered in the heat. Yellow and black striped plastic tape surrounded the building. It was tied to metal and concrete barriers, keeping the public a safe distance from the building. At every open point two guards stood posted with automatic weapons. They didn't look pleased to be pulling guard duty on a scorching summer morning.

They were brought up short by an angry looking guard with an AR-15. "What is your business here?" He leveled the automatic pistol at the two agents.

"My name is Lee Stetson; I work for the American government..."

"What is your business here? The American government has noting to do with the Parliament of Mareki. You will have to leave this area."

"This building is going to be destroyed." Lee fumbled for his ID and finally fishing it out of his pocket, handed it to the guard, silently thankful that Christophe hadn't bothered to take it when he took his gun.

The man opened his mouth to respond and Lee cut him off. "Look, I don't have time to argue with you. A man named Jean Christophe, he's a member of the MSA. He has plans to blow up the Mareki parliament building. That's his plane coming in over there. We don't have time to argue…"

The tall African, whose name was Turoro, held up a hand to silence Lee. He listened over the angry horns and shouts of the stranded motorists. The buzz of the plane was closer now. Instead of shifting in and out on the inconsistent wind, the insectile drone was clear and moving ever closer.

Lee listened as Turoro called into his superiors and an order to take out the plane at all costs was issued. Turoro turned to the agents. "There is a sandstorm coming, you should take shelter. The Mareki Army will take care of the MSA threat."

"With all due respect, we need to get people away from this building." Lee knew hundreds of people stood to die if Christophe managed to get through the army lines.

"In that respect, sir, you are right. Starting with you. Please back away from the building."

Lee took Amanda's hand and walked back outside the metal and concrete boundaries. He shielded his eyes with one hand and watched as army trucks raced to the boundary. The plane glinted in the bright sunlight as it neared the city limits.

"Lee, look." Amanda pointed into the distance as a rocket launched from a truck with a hollow fwump. The dark cylinder streaked skywards made a sharp left and slammed into the Cessna. The plane exploded into a bright orange fireball and bits of the fuselage floated back to earth on the quickening breeze. Two smaller, muffled explosions came from behind Lee and he spun to face the Parliament building. He watched in horror as puffs of smoke, dust, and debris lifted into the air. More explosions rocked the building and Lee pushed Amanda to the ground as the Mareki Parliament building collapsed behind them.

Marble dust coated everything as Lee pushed himself, coughing to his feet and helped Amanda to her feet. She stared at the building. The shouts and honks of the motorists had stopped and people stood around staring at the collapsed building. "Oh my gosh, Lee, they shot him down. I saw the plane explode…he never had a chance to launch the bombs."

Lee continued to stare at the remains of the building. "Christophe must have had a back up plan. Billy's gonna kill me, Amanda."


	6. Chapter 6

Francine Desmond stood next to the Mareki Parliament building. A swarm of agents surrounded the building. Mareki troops stood around also, glaring at Francine. They spoke in low voices and pointed at the Americans with the muzzles of their automatic weapons. The truce between the agents and the troops was fragile at best. The agents were there at the request of the President of Mareki; the troops were there because of the Prime Minister. No one was happy with the situation.

Francine wanted to blame Lee. If he had stopped Christophe, then she wouldn't be standing here in the sun, getting burned. But, there was another part of her, a much larger part, that was worried. Lee hadn't checked in. He had missed all but one of his check-ins. No one had heard from either he or Amanda since they had called that the bombs were on their way to the airport. When the agents had arrived at the small airstrip all that had been there was nothing there except some cracked tarmac and the skeletons of two small planes.

Checking her watch for the 5th time in 10 minutes, she swore under her breath. The bug like hum of a small plane engine floated in on the strengthening breeze. Shielding her eyes, Francine looked skyward. From the west, a small propeller driven plane approached the city. It was only a shiny speck in the sea of blue. She turned her attention back to the building. They had to be sure that there wasn't any way that Christophe could get through. If Lee hadn't checked in then she had to assume the worst and assume that Christophe had the bombs. Teams were searching in Christophe's last known area, but the Sahara was big, and the longer it took to find them, the less hope she had.

'He could have left their bodies anywhere…' Francine tried to stop that train of thought before it got the better of her. But, with nothing else to do but stand around and wait, she found it hard not to let her mind wander to the worst-case scenario. Lee was the optimist, not her. She was realistic.

The plane worried her. Christophe could deliver one of these bombs on a small plane. And one bomb was all it would take to destroy the parliament.

Francine had made her case to the Prime Minister, but he had decided under her strong protest, to keep the government working anyway. He told her he would not let the MSA terrorists win by shutting down the government. She understood his point of view. Letting Christophe shut down the government would be like letting the MSA win in this insane war he was fighting. But she wasn't asking him to close the Parliament for good; she was simply asking him to close it today. He insisted on keeping it open. He didn't believe that the Americans had enough 'intelligence' on the MSA and Christophe. Instead, he was going to risk the lives of 200 people by ignoring Francine's warning that Christophe was armed and planning an attack today.

"Thompson, Andrews, Taylor, get some help and get into that building and start evacuations, now." The three men paused. "Look, I don't care what the Prime Minister says, I'll take responsibility just start getting those people out of there now. I'm going to call in." Francine grimaced and pulled her blonde hair back from her face. She wasn't sure what was making her sweat more, the heat, or Christophe.

"Yes ma'am." The three each took a small group and ran up the stairs.

Francine looked skyward again. The plane was getting closer, circling the outskirts of the city. She reached for her two-way, "Lancer, this is desert eagle. Respond?"

"Go desert eagle." Billy Melrose was on the other side of the city. On the scratchy two-way communicator, he sounded as if he were back in Washington.

"We have a small plane approaching from the west of the city. It's too small for an ID." She raised a pair of binoculars to her eyes. Still the airplane was little more than a speck. The heat rising off the desert caused the air to ripple and it the plane danced in the eyepiece.

"We aren't taking any chances. Get those people out of there."

"I've already sent in an evacuation team. The Prime Minister isn't going to be happy about this."

"Let me worry about the Prime Minister. Have you heard from Scarecrow?"

"Nothing yet. Ground teams are searching out from the airstrip in concentric circles. No word. There's nothing there Billy."

"Alright, as soon as you get word from them you call in."

"Bil…"

"Unless we hear otherwise, we're working on the assumption that this is a rescue mission, not a retrieval."

"Yes sir." She tried to keep the doubt out of her voice.

"And, I'll get a team in the air from here. Lancer out."

She threw the two-way onto the seat of the jeep and turned back towards the incoming plane. It was much larger now. She could tell it was a Cessna. She raised the binoculars to her face again. Now she could read the identifying numbers. Victor, Bravo, November 8845. Of course, she doubted very much that the mercenary had filed a flight plane with the Mareki airport. She swore again. It had to be Christophe. As she was about to ask one of the guards to get a hold of a commander for her, the squawk box in her car crackled to life. She almost picked up the two-way before realizing it was coming from the CB.

A man's voice, with a heavy Mareki accent came over the radio, "General Odweso this is Lieutenant Turoro, I have two Americans here saying that the plane coming in is from the MSA."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes General. The man is carrying American Agency ID. He says that the plane is Jean Christophe's and that it is armed."

"With the smart bombs they gave him." His voice dripped with annoyance. "Thank you, Lieutenant Turoro."

"Yes sir."

As Francine stared at the box, the order went out to mobilize troops. She again went for the two-way, "Did you get that last transmission, Billy?"

"Yes, Francine I did. It has to be Lee and Amanda. They're at the old parliament building. Lee must not have gotten the updated city plans. Who was supposed to get that to him?"

"Uh, a man from the Nairobi office, Sull…" Her voice trailed off as she heard the hollow fwump of the surface to air anti-aircraft missile launching from a truck. She followed the missile on its ascent to the Cessna. The orange-red explosion left nothing of the small aircraft. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Francine? Francine! What's going on there? Francine!"

"Uh, sorry Billy. The Mareki army shot down the plane. I'll send out some janitors to make sure that it was Christophe." She motioned for two agents standing off to her left. As they trotted over she pointed in the general direction of the wreckage, "Take 10 men and make sure that it was Christophe in that plane. And I don't think I have to tell you to be careful."

People were starting to mill around. Judging by the number of people crowding the street around her, Francine figured that Thompson, Andrews, and Taylor had done their job. They refused to move too far from the white granite building. Most were annoyed, a few were confused, but the whole of the Parliament stopped talking as they watched the debris float to the ground.

"Francine, put Fielding in charge over there and go get Scarecrow and Mrs. King." Billy sounded mildly amused, even through his annoyance.

"Yes, sir." She frowned a bit and wondered just what her boss could find so funny in all of this.

Shaking her head, she climbed up into the jeep, and headed across the city.


	7. Chapter 7

Lee stared in disbelief at the destroyed building. He was stunned by the damage. The large marble structure had been completely flattened by the explosions. He could have sworn that Christophe didn't have a backup plan. He didn't even want to think about the repercussions for his career, never mind the total breakdown of relations between Mareki and the United States.

Amanda coughed beside him and he eased an arm around her waist, "are you okay?"

She nodded and coughed again, "I'm okay. But Lee?"

"Hmm?" He grunted his response to her question, never taking his eyes off the remains of the parliament.

"Where is everyone?"

Now he turned to her. "What?"

"Where is everyone? We haven't checked in at all. Nobody's heard from us since we said the bombs would be going to the airport. Shouldn't someone have been here to get people out of that building? Shouldn't Mr. Melrose have had a team here, just in case we didn't manage to stop Christophe?" She shivered some and moved closer to him, despite of the oppressive heat.

"Yeah." He furrowed his brow, "actually, yeah someone should have been here. Billy should have had a team here. Francine was supposed to be running point on this one."

Lee turned back to Turoro, "Where are the American agents that are supposed to be protecting this building?"

Turoro never turned his attention from the sirens responding to the wreckage of the plane. "There are no American agents here. There haven't been any American agents here. You two are the first Americans I've seen at all."

Lee just stared at the man. None of this made any sense. Procedure stated that if an agent missed a check-in then teams would be sent in, depending of course, on the nature of the assignment. Procedure also stated that there be some kind of plan B in a situation like this. So, where exactly was plan B?

"Oh my gosh, Lee. Do you think Christophe's men got to Francine? He could have had people here too. I mean, he had Sullivan, didn't he?"

Francine sat in the overheating Jeep swearing under her breath at the tangle of traffic. Getting across the city of Vakesh shouldn't have taken 10 minutes, instead she hadn't moved in 20. There was some kind of detour up ahead too. This day just couldn't get any better. First, Lee and Amanda went missing, then she had to fight the Prime Minister just to get her people stationed at Parliament, then Christophe had managed to get to the city limits, which didn't give her much hope for Scarecrow and Amanda, and then, even after Lee and Amanda surfaced she couldn't manage to get across the city to get them.

Looking down at her radio, Francine had a brainstorm. Shaking her head, she picked up the mic and thumbed the button. "This is Agent Desmond. Lt. Turoro, if you're reading this please respond."

Static answered her and she repeated her call. This time she was answered by a gruff, "Turoro, what is it that you want?"

"Lt. Turoro, are those Americans still there with you?"

"Yes, they are here still. Is there a problem?"

"No. No. Let me speak to Agent Stetson."

There was a long pause, not even static snapped across the connection. She stared at the radio, hoping that it hadn't gone dead too. Not that that wouldn't be par for the course.

Her heart jumped when she heard, "Stetson."

"Lee." She couldn't hide the relief in her voice. "What's your status?"

"Francine, where the hell are you? How in the hell did Christophe get into this building?"

"Lee, I don't know what you're talking about. The Mareki army shot down Christophe's plane before he got into the city limits."

"I saw that Francine. But damn it, how did he get into the parliament building?"

"Lee. The parliament building is fine. I'm about a block from your position. Let me call into Billy. I'll be there as soon as possible. Don't go anywhere."

"Yeah, yeah, fine alright."

"Oh, and is Amanda with you?"

"Yes Francine." She could hear the frustration in his voice. She wished she knew what he meant about the parliament building.

Lee turned his attention to Torero's truck when he heard Francine's name. He couldn't make out much of the conversation. The connection was terrible and he only had Torero's end of the conversation. He instinctively stepped in front of Amanda when Turoro asked if there was a problem and aimed his AR-15 at them. Instead of shooting them however, Turoro glared at him then motioned him to the radio.

His conversation with Francine just frustrated him more. She obviously didn't know what she was talking about. There was nothing about the parliament building that was fine. It was a pile of rubble and dust. How could that be fine? He was relieved however to find out that she was only a block away from them. He'd get answers when she got there.

Handing the mic back to Turoro, Lee went back to Amanda.

"What was that all about?"

He shrugged and ran his hands through his hair. She watched as he assumed his now familiar posture of frustration. She tried to control her grin as he put one hand on his hip and raked his left hand through his hair again. She knew he wouldn't appreciate that at all. And she didn't really want to be on the receiving end of his explosion.

"Lee, calm down. Francine will be here any minute. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for all of this."

The hand that was on his hip motioned broadly at the remains of the building behind them, "I can't even imagine a perfectly good explanation for this!"

Holding her hands up in defeat, she turned from him and shielded her eyes from the glaring sun looking for Francine.

"Uh, Amanda…"

She cut off his apology, "look. There's Francine."

Sighing, he nodded and led the way to the green and brown CJ.


	8. Chapter 8

Amanda got into the back of the jeep and Lee shoved the seat back into position before climbing in. "Francine…"

Now it was Francine's turn to try to hide her amusement. "Lee. This isn't the Parliament building."

"What?"

"Well, this WAS the Parliament, but the new Parliament building was built across from the Prime Minister's residence. This building hasn't been used for the last 6 months."

"Then why the hell did Christophe blow up this building?"

"I don't know Lee; maybe he didn't have new city plans either." She grinned.

He glared at her as she pulled away from the curb back into the busy street.

"Billy's going to want to debrief you…" as if on cue, the radio crackled to life.

"Francine, Melrose here. Are Lee and Amanda with you?"

"Yeah, Billy. I just picked them up at the old Parliament building…hey." Lee tore the mic from her hand.

"Billy, damn it, no updated city plans? And what in hell happened at the old parliament building?"

"Calm down Lee. Frank Sullivan from the Nairobi office was supposed to bring you the new city plans. As soon as we figured out that the old plans were wrong, we called him and he said he'd deliver. He'd been undercover with Christophe for the last 2 years."

"Billy, he wasn't undercover. He was working for Christophe. He's the one who blew my cover. He told Christophe who I…who we, were." Unconsciously, Lee touched the wound on the side of his head.

"We didn't know, Lee. He'd been feeding us information on Christophe for almost a year now. We had no reason to doubt him. I'll contact the Nairobi office and send a team out right away."

"Naw, don't bother Billy. He's dead. We came across his body in the desert. He was shot."

"By whom?"

"Don't know. My guess is that Christophe figured he was a working both sides of the fence and had him killed. If Christophe's dead, we may never know."

"Lee, are you both alright?"

Lee shrugged again before thumbing the button, "I have some skin missing from my ribs, and a pretty good egg on my head, but I'll live. Amanda's fine." He shuddered remembering just how close it had come to that not being the case.

"Alright. Tell Francine to bring you to me."

He looked at Francine, "You get that?"

She nodded, "Tell him we'll be there as soon as we can."

"Traffic's miserable Billy. We'll be there as soon as we can. Scarecrow out."

TAG:

Amanda sat down in one of the chairs in the command center. Lee ran his hand over her shoulder as he passed her and sat facing Billy's makeshift desk. Both had showered and changed.

Lee could tell that Billy wasn't telling him something.

"That was good work you two. And all in all, everything turned out for the best. I'm glad you both made it out of there alright."

"Thank you, sir."

"Yeah, thanks, Billy. But, uh, what about that other building? Why would Christophe want to blow up an empty building?"

Billy fought back his laughter and almost lost. Francine snickered and sat on the edge of his desk. "Lee, that building was scheduled for demolition today."

He and Amanda exchanged glances and spoke in unison, "What?"

"Demolition. The troops were there to keep people a safe distance from the building. It was just coincidence that the demolition happened at the same time Christophe was flying over the city."

Running his hands through his hair, he stared at Billy. Then he turned to Amanda. She was covering her mouth. Only she didn't look as stunned as he felt. He thought she was actually going to laugh. He couldn't figure out how this could possibly be funny. They'd almost been killed.

Lee sat forward in his chair and stared at his partner as she shook her head.

Actually, as much as he didn't want to, he could see how Amanda could find this funny. If it was laugh or cry, he'd rather her laugh. And since no one was actually badly hurt, his head and his ribs would heal, he could almost see the humor in the situation. No wonder the guard didn't want him going into the building. No wonder Turoro looked at him as if he had a third eye when he started talking about evacuations and terrorists. The lieutenant must have thought he was insane. Smiling weakly in spite of himself, Lee leaned back in his chair and shook his head.

Off his stunned, bemused look, Billy couldn't control himself any longer and let out a peal of laughter.

Amanda just shook her head and leaned back in the chair. She couldn't believe this. She put her hands on her knees then pushed up out of the chair. "Excuse me, sir, I think I'm going to go lay down."

"Of course, Amanda." Billy composed himself and nodded. "We'll be leaving for the states as soon as the sandstorm passes."

She nodded and got up to go. Lee looked at Billy and Francine then popped out of his chair. He didn't say anything, just glared at the two and followed Amanda out of the room.

Billy and Francine exchanged a knowing look before laughing again.

Lee waited until they were out of the command center before speaking, "Uh, Amanda…"

"Hmm?" She stopped and turned to him. Her dark eyes searched his for something he couldn't, or wouldn't admit.

"Um, I just wanted to tell you, that uh, I think you did really well out there yesterday…"

"Well, thank you, Lee." She genuinely appreciated his complement.

"No, uh, really Amanda. You were terrific. You figured out where we were. You took Christophe's gun, and you realized that we could never get away by pretending to be one of them…" He cleared his throat uncomfortably. He couldn't say what he thought next, 'you took care of me.' "So um, I just wanted to uh, to tell you that."

She smiled at him. There was something there he couldn't read. She reached for the bump on his head, gently brushed his hair back and turned away from him. He watched her walk away and this time didn't follow. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he watched her until she ducked into another building. Touching the bruise on his temple gingerly, he winced then smiled some. Shaking his head, he turned back towards the command center and went back inside.


End file.
